U.S. stock futures point to firmer start

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks are poised to continue a positive start to a holiday-shortened week when the market opens on Tuesday, with futures firmer and investors expected to focus on a clutch of economic data.

Futures for the major indexes maintained modest gains after the government report the U.S. economy grew at the fastest pace in two years during the third quarter, but the revised annual growth rate of 2.2% was much slower than first reported.

"The general idea that the economy is recovering but recovering at a slower pace than history might suggest remains unchanged. The main thrust of today's data is to help us with Q4 GDP estimates. Q4 remains on track to show expansion of around 4%," said Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist, Miller Tabak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 30 points to 10,372, while those for the S&P 500 were up 3.3 points to 1,111.5 and futures for the Nasdaq 100 were up 7.25 points to 1,832.75.

Broker upgrades to Intel and Alcoa, pending health-care legislation viewed as favorable for health insurers, and mergers-and-acquisitions activity contributed to a strong rise on Monday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 85 points, the S&P 500 added 12 points and the Nasdaq Composite poured in 26 points.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq finished at its highest level since Sept. 19, 2008, and yields on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds rose to a four-month high.

Later economic data includes existing-home sales for November along with the Federal Housing Finance Agency's house prices for October.

Economists polled by MarketWatch expect home sales to rise to 6.28 million from 6.1 million.

Analysts from RDQ Economics said the existing-home-sales release could be affected by first-time homebuyers looking to take advantage of a tax credit that was due to expire, although the credit has since been extended.

Among stocks in focus, State Street Corp.
STT, -1.12%
said it's buying the securities-services arm of Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo for $1.87 billion to expand its international presence.

Staying on the M&A theme, Boeing Co.
BA, +0.71%
said it bought Alenia North America's stake in Global Aeronautica LLC as it continues to bring more of the 787 Dreamliner's operations under its direct control.

Also on Tuesday, U.K. regulators reversed an earlier preliminary decision and approved a merger between music-event vendors Ticketmaster
TKTM
and Live Nation
LYV, -1.31%
The deal still faces regulatory scrutiny in the U.S.

Take-Two Interactive Software
TTWO, +0.24%
could be active after saying late Monday it will sell its Jack of All Games distribution business to Synnex Corp. for $43.3 million, and lowered its outlook.

Shares of Jabil Circuit Inc.
JBL, +0.19%
may also be in focus. It reported core earnings of 32 cents a share, which was higher than the 29 cents a share forecast by analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

Moody's joined fellow credit-rating companies Fitch and Standard & Poor's in downgrading Greece with a negative outlook, though markets took the expected cut in stride, with the euro rising. Commodities-related firms were among the gainers in Europe on Tuesday, helping bolster those indexes, with technology stocks also gaining.

There was also M&A activity in the Middle East. Stock-market operator Dubai Financial Markets said Tuesday that it will buy its local rival Nasdaq Dubai for $121 million from Borse Dubai and Nasdaq OMX Group
NDAQ, +1.25%
the joint owners of Nasdaq Dubai.

Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, meeting in Luanda, Angola, agreed on Tuesday to keep production quotas unchanged, according to media reports. The decision was in line with market expectations. Crude oil for February delivery fell 20 cents to $74.38 a barrel.

Traders are also awaiting the latest data on U.S. petroleum inventories.

The American Petroleum Institute will release its report at 4:30 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday. The Energy Information Administration will announce its more closely watched data at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

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